Bottle Balancer - Wine Barrel Stave

My version of the popular bottle balancer. I made it with a 1 1/4 in. hole with a 1/4 in. roundover. I like the color of the stave with just a polyurethane finish. I think the use of the barrel stave has a great tie to the wine bottle. Barrel staves are a little difficult to work with because they are curved from end to end and side to side.

It is approximately 45 deg., but I forgot to measure when I was done. I started at 40 and kept tweeking the angle until I got it to stand. I might be between 40 and 45. I think every stave will be different because the amount of curve will change from barrel to barrel and where you cut the blank from the stave. The 1/4 roundover on both sides of the hole gives it some play. It will hold an empty bottle or a full bottle. I think it might even hold a magnum but I have not tested that yet.